The Roaring 20s

How and Why did the USA achieve prosperity in the 1920s?
1. Through industry, manufacturing, finance and entertainment.
  1. President Harding's tariff acts aided the 'boom' as the USA gained more money from imports
    1. American were forced to buy American Goods
2. Industry boomed, with new mass-production techniques which made products cheaper to make and therefore cheaper to buy.
  1. This along with hire purchase meant that people could afford new luxuries
    1. ALL THESE FACTORS meant that people could spend money on commercial goods and entertainment which they previously couldn't afford
3. Entertainment: cinema and radio industry boomed
  1. More people could afford to spend money on entertainment. Other factors also meant that people had more money to spend
    1. Banks lent out more money, income tax and interest rates were lowered. This mean that more people could buy shares
How far was the USA a divided society
1. The USA in the 1920's was divided racially ,financially and morally
  1. The Jim Crow Laws segregated the black population whilst The Quota System and the National Origins Act aimed to restrict immigration into the USA
    1. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a significant movement, which demonstrated that people were judged racially in the USA in the 1920s
      1. This movement contributed to the USA's racially divided society, but after 1925, the KKK slowly lost support
  2. In terms of finance ,Very few people benefited from the boom and over 40% were in poverty
    1. Only a few people were rich whilst many were poor.
  3. There was a mixed opinion on prohibition when it was introduced, but it ultimately led to more crime and more people consuming alcohol
    1. There was also a very mixed opinion on the conduct of women in the 1920s. Some people thought that the social liberation of women had gone too far
      1. THESE FACTORS ALL SHOW THE DIVISION OF THE USA IN THE 1920s. IT WAS A DIVIDED SOCIETY IN TERMS OF MORALLY, RACE and FINANCE
    2. Prohibition was the banning of Alcohol
      1. Alcohol was linked to madness, poverty and crime
        It destroyed families
        3000 infants were smothered to death by drunken parents
        Big breweries were owned by Germans. People were seen to be traitors for drinking alcohol
Why did the US Stock Exchange collapse in 1929?
1. Government policies, financial division and overproduction all contributed to the Wall Street Crash
  1. The USA's policy of economic isolationism created a TRADE BARRIER with Europe. This meant that it was diffucult to sell US products abroad
    1. Wealth was unevenly distributed, meaning that the working class has less money to spend on commercial goods
      1. These factors meant that there was a surplus of goods, and overproduction in the USA. This led to reduced production and therefore increased unemployment. This also meant that people had less money
  2. On Thursday 24th October 1929 (24/10/1929) the value of shares dropped dramatically. 13 million shares were sold on this day because there was little confidence in the economy
    1. Leading figures tried to buy shares in order to restore condifence and stop panic. This failed and panic selling led to debts and bankruptcy of people all areas of society and over 5000 banks went bankrupt
Extra stuff
1. Tariffs
  1. 1922 Fordney McCumber Act put high import tariffs on all foreign made goods sold in the USA
    1. This was intended to protect American industries and encourage Americans to buy home produced goods
      1. This would also produce more jobs for American workers
        This policy was later to backfire and damage exports as soon these foreign countries did the exact same to America.
2. Advertising and Hire Purchase
  1. Advertising encouraged people to seek ‘The American Dream’, with lots of consumer goods making life easier for working people
    1. Goods could be bought by paying a small deposit and then paying the rest instalments many people could buy lots of expensive goods this way but ended up owing huge amounts, which would cause problems if they lost their jobs.
3. Mass Production
  1. A new method of producing large quantities of goods at cheaper prices, using standardisation and a moving assembly line.
    1. A Model T Ford could be produced every 93 minutes (instead of 14 hours)
      1. Prices fell to make the car affordable for ordinary working families so Ford sold more Cars;
        Wages for Ford workers rose
        Other manufacturers copied the mass production methods, making consumer goods affordable and created more jobs in manufacturing industries, e.g. telephones, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, typewriters, cookers.
        Cars required little materials, but granted many benefits
4. Entertainment and Leisure
  1. Jazz music gave opportunities to black musicians
    1. Cinema - film stars became role models for young people
      1. Radio Broadcast live sport - baseball, boxing, American football
        New dances and crazes
        Flappers – Young women who wore short skirts and shirts, cut their hair, smoke, wore makeup – behaviour shocked the older generation
5. Skyscrapers
  1. The construction industry boomed; Skyscrapers were a symbol of the optimism of the times; land was in short supply in New York, so buildings went up rather than out
6. Prohibition
  1. Why so difficult?
    1. People were not prepared to stop drinking alcohol
    2. BOOTLEGGERS could easily smuggle alcohol into the country
    3. Gangsters like Al Capone paid Police officers and Judges (CORRUPTION) to make sure they weren't arrested
    4. There were hardly any prohibition agents to enforce the law. There were more speakeasies in Chicago than agents in the USA
      1. SPEAKEASIES are illegal bars. People made their own illegal alcohol called MOONSHINE.
        It was not illegal to drink alcohol, just to buy it.
        Moonshine made some people blind, and was known to even kill people
  2. Effects of Prohibition
    1. Disguising bars as other shops
    2. 'Speak Easy' illegal disguised bars
    3. Special prohibition agents to enforce law
    4. Corrupt police officers and judges
    5. 'Bootleg alcohol' illegal home made alcohol
    6. 'Bootleggers' people who sold illegal alcohol
    7. 'Moonshine' illegal alcohol that was sneaked into speak easies
    8. Increase in cost of alcohol
    9. Moonshine was bad quality
    10. Encouraged Crime
  3. How did Prohibition affect the USA in the 1920s
    1. Show Consequences of Prohibition (6 developed points)
      1. Bootleggers
      2. Moonshine
      3. Speakeasies
      4. Corruption
      5. Gangsters
      6. Increase in crime
    2. Use PEEL. REMEMBER TO LINK
      1. Link every point with another i.e Increase in crime can link to Gangsters, which can then link to corruption
Revision TIPS
1. Make a bullet point list of: Five good things about living in America in the 1920s. Five bad things about living in America in the 1920s.
  1. How the USA reacted to the end of the First World War.
    1. How the policies of the American government encouraged isolation.
      1. What were the Roaring Twenties?
        Whether the Roaring Twenties is a good description of the USA in the 1920s.
        How accurate the term the Roaring Twenties is as a description of American society in the 1920s?
        How far US society changed in the 1920s.
        How far the roles of women changed during the 1920s.

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The Roaring 20s

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